Bid Invitation: Monitoring Small Grants Program

Posted on: June 27, 2024 Application Deadline: July 10, 2024

Sorry, this job is not available for new applications because it has reached its deadline.

Service:	Consultancy
Bid currency:	USD
Deadline:	10-07-2024 at 3:00 PM Sanaa time

About the Sana’a Center

The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies is an independent think-tank that seeks to foster change through knowledge production with a focus on Yemen and the surrounding region. The Center’s publications and programs, offered in both Arabic and English, cover political, social, economic, and security-related developments, aiming to impact policy locally, regionally, and internationally.

Founded in 2014, the Sana’a Center is one of the few independent research centers that has continued to operate in Yemen throughout the ongoing conflict. While the Center maintains cordial relations with all key stakeholders, it has remained fiercely unaligned with any of the belligerent parties. The Sana’a Center has thus maintained a unique position in the ability to work throughout Yemen and beyond.

The Center maintains a strong network across Yemen with access to Yemeni political and security figures, tribal leaders, economists, journalists, humanitarian actors, civil society, and other key stakeholders. The Center has also established a broad network and presence within the international community, connecting it to international organizations, diplomatic circles, regional and international policymakers, research centers, and global forums.

Objective of the bid:

Overall Objective: To monitor the entire process and procedures of the small grants program from a localization point of view.

Specific Objectives

To understand the efficiency and effectiveness of the grants process from a localization perspective (the process of developing the grants program, selection of grantees, grants disbursement and management process, grants management structure, challenges faced, and lessons learned)
To monitor the implementation of the small grant projects by the grantee organizations from a localization perspective
To identify and document lessons learned and best practices and give recommendations to design follow-up phases of similar activities in the future with a focus on localization.

Background:

The Sana’a Center is currently implementing a four-year project ‘Supporting a Localized, Inclusive and Sustainable Peace in Yemen (SLISPY)’, which is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project aims to enhance the localization of the peace processes, boost civilian protection, and empower youth, civil society, and women to shape peacebuilding policy. The project has two components: the Peace Incubator (PI), which is a dynamic, collaborative platform that connects Yemeni experts with international peace actors and initiatives, and the Yemen Peace Forum (YPF), a track II youth and civil society platform that seeks to invest in building and empowering Yemeni youth, women and CSOs to bridge the gap between these groups and national and international decision-makers.

The YPF consists of 55 members (28 youth both men and women and 27 representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs)). In February 2024, the Sana’a Center launched a small grants program to support the initiatives of CSO members of the YPF. The overall objective of the small grants program is to maximize the ability of YPF members to respond to the needs of the communities and the objectives they have set for their organizations and implement local initiatives that support peace and inclusion and thereby contribute to shaping the future of Yemen. The specific objective of this call is to build the capacity of YPF members in proposal development and grant management. The program is focused on actions that fall within the priorities identified by the YPF falling within the thematic areas of Climate Change, Women and Youth, Peacebuilding and conflict resolution, Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDPN), Transitional Justice, Education, and Civic Space.

The expected duration of the actions is four months from August to November 2024.

The Sana’a Center is currently seeking to hire a Third Party to monitor the small grants program.

Scope:

Duration: 4 months

Scope: Monitoring the Small Grants Program of the SLISPY project documenting lessons learned and best practices and providing recommendations.

The monitoring will seek to answer the following questions:

Objectives	Questions the monitoring will seek to answer
To understand the efficiency and effectiveness of the grants process from a localization perspective	To what extent was localization reflected in the process of developing the grants program (participation of YPF members in selecting themes for the program, alignment of the grant program with community needs) To what extent was the grants program gender sensitive and inclusive? What was the process of awarding the grants from the beginning till the end? Was the grant award process well-designed, competitive, transparent, and fair? Were the grantees provided any guidance and capacity building to apply for the grant program and what were the inputs provided? Was a due diligence process done for the grantees before awarding the grants? Is the grant disbursement and management process efficient? What team structure is there in place to manage the grants program? Were there any challenges faced to disburse the grants and how were they overcome? Was the grants program timely implemented or were there any delays? What challenges were faced, and what lessons were learned in the process? What is the feedback of the grantees regarding the application process? (Were they satisfied with the process? Did they get enough guidance regarding the application? What were the challenges faced?) What is the feedback of the Grantees about the grant program? (Are they satisfied with the program? Did they find the thematic focus aligned with the community’s needs? Was the program aligned with the organizational strategy of the grantees?)
To monitor the implementation of the small grant projects by the grantee organizations from a localization perspective	Are the small projects being implemented as per the proposal (Is the location of the activities the same and verifiable? Are the activities the same as what was proposed? Are there any discrepancies?) How are the projects progressing? (Are the projects progressing towards achieving their planned results and targets? Are the projects progressing as per the agreed timeline? Are there any delays?) Were the projects efficiently implemented? What team and capacity were in place to manage the small projects? How were the projects monitored? Were the narrative and financial documentation and reporting satisfactory? Were the projects inclusive and gender-sensitive? How were inclusivity and gender sensitivity monitored? Did the small grants program enhance the project management capacities of the grantees (including planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, budget management, and financial reporting)? What is the feedback and perception of the beneficiaries about the small projects? (Were they satisfied with the organization of the activities? Did they find the activities useful? Were they relevant to the community’s needs?)
To identify and document lessons learned and best practices and give recommendations to design follow-up phases of similar activities in the future with focus on localization	What worked well and should be built upon for future similar efforts in localization? What needs to be improved? What did not work well should not be continued.

Objectives

Questions the monitoring will seek to answer

To understand the efficiency and effectiveness of the grants process from a localization perspective

To what extent was localization reflected in the process of developing the grants program (participation of YPF members in selecting themes for the program, alignment of the grant program with community needs)

To what extent was the grants program gender sensitive and inclusive?

What was the process of awarding the grants from the beginning till the end? Was the grant award process well-designed, competitive, transparent, and fair? Were the grantees provided any guidance and capacity building to apply for the grant program and what were the inputs provided? Was a due diligence process done for the grantees before awarding the grants?

Is the grant disbursement and management process efficient? What team structure is there in place to manage the grants program? Were there any challenges faced to disburse the grants and how were they overcome? Was the grants program timely implemented or were there any delays? What challenges were faced, and what lessons were learned in the process?

What is the feedback of the grantees regarding the application process? (Were they satisfied with the process? Did they get enough guidance regarding the application? What were the challenges faced?)

What is the feedback of the Grantees about the grant program? (Are they satisfied with the program? Did they find the thematic focus aligned with the community’s needs? Was the program aligned with the organizational strategy of the grantees?)

To monitor the implementation of the small grant projects by the grantee organizations from a localization perspective

Are the small projects being implemented as per the proposal (Is the location of the activities the same and verifiable? Are the activities the same as what was proposed? Are there any discrepancies?)

How are the projects progressing? (Are the projects progressing towards achieving their planned results and targets? Are the projects progressing as per the agreed timeline? Are there any delays?)

Were the projects efficiently implemented? What team and capacity were in place to manage the small projects? How were the projects monitored? Were the narrative and financial documentation and reporting satisfactory?

Were the projects inclusive and gender-sensitive? How were inclusivity and gender sensitivity monitored?

Did the small grants program enhance the project management capacities of the grantees (including planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, budget management, and financial reporting)?

What is the feedback and perception of the beneficiaries about the small projects? (Were they satisfied with the organization of the activities? Did they find the activities useful? Were they relevant to the community’s needs?)

To identify and document lessons learned and best practices and give recommendations to design follow-up phases of similar activities in the future with focus on localization

What worked well and should be built upon for future similar efforts in localization? What needs to be improved? What did not work well should not be continued.

Methodology

The methodology will outline the strategy for addressing the assignment questions, explaining the chosen techniques and their fit with the study’s design. The consultant will describe the data types, collection methods, target groups, and analysis approach. The assignment should use reliable quantitative and qualitative methodologies to evaluate key performance indicators effectively. Data collection will include document reviews, surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews with various stakeholders and community groups.

The proposal should adequately address any ethical considerations and illustrate how the research will respect the principle of ‘no harm’ and standard research ethics standards.

Items

Details

Basic conditions/requirements

A track record of previously published humanitarian and development aid research.
An understanding of the Yemeni context, political economy, humanitarian and aid context, and conflict dynamics.
Expertise in the international aid system and donors’ policies related to the humanitarian-development nexus.
The applicant (or team of consultants) must be able to work with ease in Arabic and English.

Main tasks

The Third Party shall carry out the following tasks under the direct supervision of the YPF Coordinator and the Project Manager:

Conducting a preliminary meeting with the project team to understand the assignment.
Conducting a desk review of the available project documents
Developing and submitting an inception report including the detailed methodology, tools, and a time-bound action plan for the monitoring.
Developing the final tools, methodology, and action plan after modification based on feedback provided by the project team and Sana’a Center.
Collecting the data as per the agreed methodology and final tools, including developing templates for narrative and financial reports.
Conducting visits to the project sites
Monthly briefings for the project team and the Sana’a Center
Developing the first draft of the Monitoring report, sharing with the project team and Sana’a Center.
Developing the final Monitoring report after modification based on the feedback received and submitting the same for approval.
Developing a PowerPoint presentation on the key findings and recommendations
Debriefing the project team and Sana’a Center on the key findings and evaluations
Developing a report on the entire assignment.

Deliverables:

Deliverable	Deadline
Inception report including methodology tools and action plan	15 August
Three Monthly narrative and financial reports	30 September 30 October 30November
One visit to each project funded through the grant program and submitting reports for each project visited	September – October
Final monitoring report	15 November
A brief presentation on the key findings and recommendations of the monitoring	19 November
A briefing session to present the key findings and recommendations	25 November
A report on the entire assignment	25 November
Clean data/transcripts of the interviews conducted	30 November

Other requirements

Company/organization profile (if applicable)
CV of consultant/s
Technical and financial proposal

Evaluation of the proposal

70% for technical proposal
1. Best fit with the basic conditions (see above).
2. Demonstrated professional competence and reliability (based on work experience, research experience, and publications).
3. Quality of the methodology.
4. Ability to deliver within the requested time frame.
30% for financial proposal

Application Process

Interested consultants/groups of consultants/consultancy firms are requested to submit a technical and financial proposal to [email protected]

Note: Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview by a committee to ensure their understanding of the consultancy.